A consultative forum of 50 religious scholars from all schools of thought discussed the subject of the "proper and honest use of vote" in the upcoming general elections under the auspices of the Pakistan Institute of National Affairs here on Monday with Mufti Maulana Muhammad Akram Kashmiri from Jamia Ashrafia chairing the meeting.
Institute Secretary General Altaf Hasan Qureshee said Pakistan came into being because of the 1945-46 elections on the basis of the two-nation theory. "The Quaid-e-Azam made a historic speech on the eve of the Lahore Resolution in which he argued that Muslims were a separate nation as they have their own sense of history, code of laws and dynamics of civilisation.
Distinguished scholars played a historic role in the Pakistan Movement and with collective efforts under their guidance the objective resolution was passed by the first Constitutional Assembly in March 1949. The salient feature of the Objective Resolution is that the authority vested by Allah is a trust, which can only be exercised through the elected representatives of the people. As such elections are the integrate of our state," they said.
Participants lauded the institute's role, which has tried to bring religious schools into mainstream through a democratic and electoral process. They said that to weaken the feudal system it was necessary that a person having more than 25 acres of land be debarred from taking part in the elections. The participants endorsed a suggestion that a candidate comparatively accessible to voters should be given preference.
The forum urged the scholars to motivate the masses to exercise their vote with the sense of religious duty. It also said that women should be encouraged to exercise their vole as Islam bestowed equal rights and duties on men and women.
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